Hanging Kitchen Cabinets

Carcass:"I always look for a good, heavy box, one with a thick, solid back or rail where I can screw it securely to the wall." Tom favors plywood (over particleboard or MDF), dadoed or mortised joints, and metal corner braces(1).
Finishes: Catalyzed lacquers or conversion varnishes are the toughest; either can be applied over clear or painted wood.
Fasteners: Screws are best, but unless you pay for custom-made units, most cabinets are held together with staples or brads.
Drawers: Dovetail joints (2) stand up to constant abuse better than simple box or butted joints. Fully extending drawer slides (3) cost more but allow complete access.
Hinges:The exposed knuckles on leaf hinges befit a traditional look, but they are hard to adjust. Cup hinges (4), also known as European or concealed hinges, are more easily adjusted to keep doors hanging true.
Glossary
Back Bevel: A 2- to 5-degree angle planned partway across the edge of a cabinet or a piece of trim. The bevel always slants away from (and does not touch) the exposed face of the piece being planed.
Counterbore: A bit that simultaneously drills a pilot hole and cuts a recess for the screw head so it can be covered with a plug or wood putty.
Scribe: A cut made in a cabinet or trim piece that follows the countour of an adjoining surface.

Tools
1. Cordless drill: for securing cabinets to the wall and each other
2. Bit set: for boring holes and driving screws
3. Hardwood glue: for securing trim joints
4. Angle finder (optional): for measuring angle between adjacent walls.
5. 4-in-1 screwdriver: for removing and securing door hardware.
6. Hammer: for nailing trim in place
7. Trim saw (optional): for cutting shims flush
8. Chalk line: for snapping layout lines
9. Tape measure: for general measuring
10. Folding rule: for measuring between surfaces that face each other
11. Bubble level: for determining level and plumb
12. Block plane: for back-beveling face frames and fine-tuning scribes
13. Compass: for scribing
14. Bar clamps: for holding cabinets together
15. Utility knife: for trimming shims.
16. 3/4-inch chisel: for shaving wood to tune fit
17. Framing square: for determining squareness of corners
18. Wood shims: for making cabinets plumb and level
19. 2 1/2-inch deck screws with washers or washer heads (inset): for anchoring cabinets to the studs (drywall screws can snap)
Not Shown
6-foot stepladder: for installing upper cabinets
Biscuit joiner (optional): for joining and aligning face frames
Hole saws: to cut holes for plumbing lines
Straightedge: for checking that face frames are flush

1 Mark the Reference Lines

Using a level, mark a level reference line on the walls about 48 inches off the floor.

Snap a chalk line at these marks, and measure from this line down to the floor in several places.

Mark the line where the measurement is shortest; this is the high point of the floor.

Tip: If you have a tall cabinet for a pantry or built-in oven, its height determines that of the other upper cabinets.

2 Mark Base Cabinet Height

Directly beneath the mark for the high point, mark the height of your base cabinets usually 34 inches above the floor.

From that mark, extend a level layout line along the walls. The top of the base cabinets will be flush with this line.

Measure 17 to 18 inches up from the base cabinet layout line, and snap a level chalk line for the bottom edge of the upper cabinets. Find the studs and mark their locations on both layout lines.

Mark out locations of all appliances.

3 Join the Upper Cabinets

Remove doors, drawers, and movable shelves to make the cabinets lighter and easier to position. Label everything with masking tape so each piece can be put back without mix-ups.

Set a straight 1x3 cleat alongside and just beneath the layout line for the upper cabinets. Drive 2-inch drywall screws through it and into every other stud. Attach more cleats along the length of the line.

With the cabinets on the floor, align the face frame of the upper corner cabinet so it's flush with the frame of the neighboring cabinet. Clamp them together. Check for flush with a straightedge.

Drill counterbored pilot holes through the edge of the face frame, top and bottom. Drive 2-inch screws into these holes to hold the cabinets tightly together.

Tip: "You don't want any gaps showing where face frames join," Tom says. "That's poor workmanship."

4 Hang the Upper Cabinets

With help, lift the upper cabinet assembly into the corner and rest it on the cleat.

As a helper steadies the assembly, check the cabinet face with a level to see if it's plumb. If it is, drive four 2 1/2-inch deck screws with washers through the back, top and bottom, and into the studs. If it's not, slip shims behind the cabinet at stud locations. When the cabinet is plumb, screw it through the shims to the studs.

Lift the remaining cabinets onto the cleat, align their faces flush with those already installed, and clamp and screw the edges together.

Shim cabinets as necessary, then fasten them to the studs through the shims with the 2 1/2-inch deck screws and washers.

Close any gap between the wall and the end cabinet by scribing its stile or back edge or by covering the gap with trim.

5 Install the Corner Base Cabinet

Jockey the corner cabinet into position. Shim it up from the floor until its back edge meets the layout line.

If there are plumbing lines, push the shimmed cabinet against them and mark their locations on its back panel. Turn the cabinet around and drill holes through the back with an appropriate-size hole saw.

Using a level, check the face of the cabinet for plumb. If it's not plumb, insert shims between the floor and the bottom of the cabinet, or between the wall and the back of the cabinet, at the stud locations.

Check that the top of the cabinet is level, and add shims underneath as necessary.

With the cabinet seated against its shims, drive 2 1/2-inch deck screws with washers through the cabinet back and into the studs. At the shim locations, counterbore and fasten cabinet to the floor with deck screws—without washers.

6 Install Remaining Base Cabinets

Working out from the installed corner cabinet, shim the adjacent cabinets out from the wall (at the stud locations) and up from the floor so that the face frames are plumb and the tops are level and even with the layout line.

Align each cabinet so its face is flush with its already-installed neighbor.

Clamp them together, counterbore through the edge of the face frames, and fasten them together with 2-inch screws.

7 Screw Base Cabinets to Wall

When screwing through the cabinet backs, be sure to position the screws so they pass through the shims.

Close any gap between the wall and the end cabinet by scribing its stile or the back edge of its side panel. Or, cover the gap with trim.

Using a utility knife, score and snap off any shims that protrude beyond the edges of the cabinets.

Remove all the upper-cabinet support cleats and fill the screw holes with spackling compound.

Place the drawers and shelves in their original cabinets.

8 Replace Doors, Install Toekick

Reinstall the cabinet doors, making adjustments for proper fit.

Using 1-inch brads, fasten the toekick trim to the base cabinets. Fit the longest pieces first, then cut and install the shorter pieces.

Close any gaps between the floor and trim by scribing, or cover them by brad-nailing a shoe molding to the floor.

Recess the nail heads with a nail set and cover them with wood putty or color-matched wax stick.

If there's crown molding to trim out the upper cabinets, miter the joints at outside corners; cope the joints at inside corners.

Align the molding's bottom edge with a level layout line marked above the tops of the doors. Fasten the molding to the cabinet with 1- to 2-inch finish nails.

Glue the molding's end joints. Recess the nail heads with a nail set and cover them with wood putty or color-matched wax stick.